Chapter 3
Where...?
Danny.
"Danny?" His head swings too fast for any image to process.
"Danny?
Danny, where are you?
Dan-" A swarm of hands are around him, shouts and sirens booming as they push him back.
"Get off- GET OFF ME!
I need to find my kid!
CHRIS!
Dan, buddy, where are you?
Dan
A sudden wave washes over him, carrying his energy away, and the people set him down without a fight.
It's hard to think past the fog in his head but he claws his way to consciousness, facing the man next to him.
"-can call some local pediatric hospitals.
What's his full name?"
...What..?
"Dan...
His name's Danny Mendez.
Brown hair...
Glasses...
He was wearing a yellow long-sleeve with stripes...
He has Cer-C-..
CP...
, let me see him."
There's a genuine sorrow in those eyes.
Like I said, you were admitted alone and no kids have been checked in since you arrived."
Oh, god.
"It's possible that he was taken to the children's hospital over on-"
He barely processes the cold sweat breaking over his forehead when he leans over the side of his bed, emptying his stomach onto the floor.
Alarms blare in his ear, the taste of metal on his tongue, but he doesn't care.
He needs to find Dan.
The plate screeches across the table, digging a rut where it's been passed back and forth for the last fifteen minutes.
"You gotta eat something."
Scrape.
"Not hungry."
"Please?" Nothing.
"I'll let you-"
"I wanna help look for Jens."
Val and Gabe glance over from where they're leaning against the counter, and Alex takes a breath.
"Dan, we talked about this...
It's been four days.
Jens's most likely been picked up already, so we just need to keep calling the hospitals until we find the one he's at."
"That doesn't work!
I heard you on the phone.
They say they'll check but there's too many people.
By the time someone finds him, it could be too late!
We need to do more!"
The blunt of his nails pierce into his palm and he tries his best to keep his face neutral.
Dan isn't wrong.
They've spent all hours outside of their shifts calling hospitals, asking for updates, or contacting dozens of different nurses and emergency crews with no luck.
And poor Rosa...
The call center graced her some time off to grieve and she's been plugged to the wall ever since.
Not that they can blame the hospitals.
They're stuck wrangling through a thousand other calls from people just like them, trying to find their loved one.
It doesn't make it easier, though.
He broke down once, to random nurse #37.
begged
her to just tell him he was alive.
But she couldn't.
She didn't know if he was.
No one did...
That was a rough night.
A warm hand glides along his shoulder, Val taking the chair beside him.
"They might not be able to tell us if he's there right now but if we give them enough information, they can ID him faster.
And then maybe Jens can call us himself.
So we have to keep trying, even if we have to call every clinic in Seaside."
Dan looks on the verge of tears for the upteenth time and it still stabs Alex's heart like a knife.
"Can I make missing posters?
We can give them to the people at the hospital and see if anyone recognizes him."
Huh.
This kid.
"That's... a really great idea, mijo.
We'll stop by his place later today and pick out a photo."
"There's already a ton on your phone." Alex freezes.
"Me and Jens like to sneak a bunch of pictures together when you're not looking.
We were waiting for you to notice, but you don't check your photos that often."
Clearly not.
A shaky thumb brushes through picture after picture of Jens and Dan, shoulder to shoulder, making the silliest of faces with Alex in the background, none the wiser.
When his back is turned to wash the dishes.
When he's fallen asleep during movie nights.
When he's sipping his morning coffee and his eyes refuse to open.
It's them, together...
Like a family...
Val squeezes his leg under the table, slipping the phone out of his shuddering grip.
"These look perfect, Dan.
I'm just gonna send a couple to myself," her finger drags over a large bulk, "and you can choose which one you want to use on the way to my place.
We can make the poster on my laptop and then print them out at the store.
Sound good?" He nods.
"Ok.
I'll pick you up something to eat along the way.
Gabe?"
"I got him."
That's all she needs before she's grabbing Alex's keys, her and his son out the door in a flash.
The room stays silent as Gabe moves into the abandoned seat.
With a soft smile, he slides through the photos on Alex's phone, occasionally sending another candidate for Dan to consider.
And it all sorta just... spills out.
"We should have found him by now.
He would have called...
I don't- I don't know if I can keep lying to Dan.
I can't pretend everything's alright when it's
not."
His chair flies back as he begins to pace.
"I brought him home after physical therapy yesterday and the look on his face...
He was
devastated,
Gabe
Jens and him always did exercises together after sessions, showing each other the different stretches they learned in therapy.
But Jens
wasn't here.
And it
hurt
He's barely moved.
He won't
talk
to me.
He won't eat.
I've tried to distract him and nothing works.
I just keep
failing
him over and over and I don't know how to fix it.
I
can't
fix it.
I can't
fix
this."
"Alex..."
Fuck, he wants to scream.
Just scream until the void in his chest is filled with the sound and he can't feel it anymore.
"I don't know what to do..."
The man sighs.
" I don't think this is something you can 'fix'." And, oh, he didn't think he could feel more hollow.
"I know you want to protect him.
I know you want to shield him from the pain.
That doesn't seem to be how Dan wants to do things.
He's
fighting,
to help, and all your distractions are getting in the way of that.
Think of it from his point of view.
He's doing everything in his power to find Jens, and you're trying to stop him."